A new WSU program will help 85 low-income students per semester save money for college has released a tentative title and details about the program’s execution. Applications will open soon.

Invest in Success, the current name of the program, is the result of a collaborative effort between Washington State University’s Office of the Provost, WSU Student Financial Services (SFS) and Washington Trust Bank (WTB).

Designed to help students who are already working during the school year, the program will help educate students in finance, set up savings, and even match and exceed funds students contribute to their personal savings accounts.

Invest in Success originated with the announcement of a grant titled ‘Assets for Independence’ and was originally found by Michael Highfill, WSU director of research and proposal development.

“I’ve actually known about this program and had the design in my head for a few years, but it wasn’t until I came to WSU that it became a real possibility,” Highfill said.

Highfill worked with Bryan Dixon, assistant vice president of SFS, and Joy Scourey, director of student services of SFS, to make the program a reality at WSU.

“I had a pitch prepared about how this could leverage institutional resources and bolster student retention, but within a few minutes they were both on board,” Highfill said. “That says a lot about the leadership of WSU and their dedication to student success.”

After approval, SFS sought out matching funds for someone to coordinate the program, with the Office of the Provost stepping in to offer to match funds for the coordinator. Highfill worked with the Pullman branch of WTB, which offered its assistance with the program once more details came to light.

“Washington Trust Bank has waived both administration and user fees for the accounts, allowing students to maintain the accounts themselves,” said Todd Mordhorst, communications coordinator for the Office of the Provost. “WSU’s Student Financial Services office will be administering the program, and the Office of the Provost will oversee it.”

Invest in Success is a two-step program which begins with educating students in financial literacy and, upon completion, offers matching funds of up to 400 percent for money low income students put into a WTB savings account.

The program has no minimum amount for deposits into the savings account, but has a maximum of $4,000 matching funds, based on a 10 month, $100-per-month savings schedule. Qualified students will be able to set up a WTB savings account for free, with no monthly charges or fees.

The program is open to 425 students over 5 years, or 85 students per semester, a number that Mordhorst said WSU will have no problem filling.

“It’s a substantial amount to begin with, but our hope is to help as many students as possible,” Mordhorst said.

Despite the tremendous accomplishments so far, the teams are all continuing to work toward expanding the program.

“It’s simply unacceptable that nationally a student from the lowest income quartile is over 40 percent less likely to graduate from college,” Highfill said regarding the need for programs like this.

The Office of the Provost, SFS and Highfill are all working toward renewing the grant that is currently funding the program, and looking into avenues to expand the program.

The application process is scheduled to open in the next few weeks, with the website for the program to be available for viewing by the end of this week.